WNBA
Marine Johannes scored 17 points with five 3-pointers, Jonquel Jones had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 82-63 to win the third WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship. New York handed Las Vegas its first home loss of the season — in 16 games — after holding the Aces below 65 points for the second time in nine days. New York closed the third quarter on a 15-5 run to take a 56-48 lead — capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Kayla Thornton. Sabrina Ionescu added consecutive 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to extend it to 66-52. The Liberty finished 15 of 35 from 3-point range, while the Aces made just 5 of 26.
MLB
Jason Delay hit a two-run double in a six-run seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the New York Mets 7-4. Pittsburgh stranded 10 runners through six innings before sending 10 batters to the plate against a trio of pitchers in the seventh. Pittsburgh scored its first three runs via a bases-loaded walk, a bases-loaded hit batter and a bases-loaded passed ball before Delay doubled off rookie right-hander Grant Hartwig. One out later, Bryan Reynolds hit a run-scoring triple. Colin Selby, making his fourth big league appearance, entered a 1-1 game in the sixth and got the win.
Bryce Elder pitched one-hit ball over seven innings, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Marcell Ozuna went deep, and the Atlanta Braves cruised past the reeling New York Yankees 5-0. After an 11-3 romp in the series opener, the Braves wasted no time jumping on Yankees starter Luis Severino. Ozuna launched a three-shot in the first inning for his 24th homer. Acuña added a two-run homer in the fourth. Elder cruised through the Yankees, facing only one hitter above the minimum before turning it over to the bullpen. DJ LeMahieu had the lone Yankees hit, a second-inning single.
Alex Verdugo led off the game with a homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals 5-4 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series. Boston, which remained three games behind Toronto for the American League’s last wild-card spot, has won six of eight. The Red Sox improved to 9-1 at Nationals Park. Stone Garrett and Keibert Ruiz each drove in two runs for the Nationals, who had won 12 of their last 14 at home. After Verdugo’s ninth home run and second career leadoff blast, Triston Casas made it 3-0 with a two-run single in the third off Josiah Gray (7-10).
Cavan Biggio was hit in the foot by a pitch with the bases-loaded pitch in the eighth inning to force in the tiebreaking run in the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies last night. Pinch-hitter Nathan Lukes walked against right-hander Seranthony Domínguez to begin the eighth, and Whit Merrifield reached when left fielder Kyle Schwarber couldn’t hold on to Merrifield’s sinking liner. Brandon Belt struck out, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked to load the bases before George Springer grounded into a force play, with third baseman Alec Bohm throwing out Lukes out at the plate.Domínguez (2-3) hit Biggio with his next pitch, bringing Merrifield home from third. Right-hander Jordan Hicks (2-7) struck out all three batters he faced for the victory.
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge likely will avoid surgery on his ailing toe after the season. That's the word from manager Aaron Boone, who spoke before a game against the Atlanta Braves. Boone says the reigning AL MVP has been moving well since his return from injured list on July 28. After serving as a designated hitter in an 11-3 loss to the Braves on Monday, Judge is set to start in right field for game two of the series. It's the seventh time in 17 games since his return that Judge has been penciled in defensively.
Rookie Bobby Miller tossed six innings of one-run ball and the Los Angeles Dodgers won their ninth straight game, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 in a matchup of NL division leaders. The NL West-leading Dodgers are riding their longest winning streak since taking 12 in a row from July 31-Aug. 13 last year. They improved to 13-1 this month and are a season-best 26 games over .500 at 72-46. Miller (7-2) allowed one hit in his first win since July 22. The right-hander struck out four and walked one. Ryan Yarbrough earned his first save of the season with three innings of relief. The NL Central-leading Brewers had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Slugger Jon Singleton is back in the majors for the first time since 2015 after his career was derailed by several failed tests for marijuana. His final failed test was in 2018, one year before Major League Baseball removed marijuana from its banned substances list. He wonders what could have been if marijuana was taken off the list sooner. He started this season with Milwaukee and is now back with the Houston Astros. The 31-year-old was once a top prospect. He starred for the Astros in his first home game Friday night with two homers and a career-high five RBIs.
NFL
Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy are calling Michael Oher’s claims that they enriched themselves at his expense “outlandish,” “hurtful and absurd” and part of a shakedown by the former NFL offensive tackle. A statement from the Tuohys' attorneys also accuses Oher of filing this petition after an earlier shakedown attempt. Attorney Martin Singer says in the statement that the Tuohys hope they can reconcile with Oher but will defend their name. Oher filed a petition asking a Tennessee judge to end the Tuohys’ reign as his conservators. That paperwork was signed months after he turned 18.
The Indianapolis Colts have seen enough of rookie Anthony Richardson to name him their opening day starting quarterback. Coach Shane Steichen made the announcement three days after the former Florida star delivered a solid performance against Buffalo in the Colts' preseason opener. It's the seventh consecutive year Indy will have a new starter in Week 1. The No. 4 overall pick in this year's NFL draft beat out veteran Gardner Minshew for the job. Minshew signed with Indy as a free agent during the offseason.
TENNIS
Novak Djokovic fell in his first match in the United States since 2021, losing in doubles Tuesday in the Western & Southern Open. Djokovic and Nikola Cacic lost 6-4, 6-2 to Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the Serbian star’s return to the country after missing events because of COVID-19 vaccine restrictions. Djokovic was playing his first competitive match since falling to top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. The winner of a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Djokovic is set to open singles play Wednesday night against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Alcaraz beat Australian qualifier Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the late match. The defending U.S. Open champion became the first ATP player to reach 50 wins this season.
GOLF
The golf-crazed market of Chicago once feared it would get the big names only every other year. Now it has two tournaments in a month. One of them is the BMW Championship. The other is LIV Golf. They are nothing alike except for the prize money and the small fields. AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson says the PGA Tour should reconsider the size of its postseason fields. The BMW Championship used to have 70 players. Now only 50 are at Olympia Fields. The playoffs used to begin with 125 players. Now it's at 70. The tour is as much about stars as it is opportunity.
SOCCER
Lionel Messi keeps scoring goals, and Inter Miami keeps winning games. Messi ripped a shot from 30 yards past three Philadelphia defenders in the 20th minute, and Miami beat the Philadelphia Union 4-1 to reach the Leagues Cup final. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored his ninth goal in six matches with his new team in front of a crowd that pushed 20,000 fans. Messi's appearance at Subaru Field in the Philly suburbs sent ticket prices soaring past $1,000 on the secondary market. Miami will face Nashville for the Leagues Cup title.
WOMEN’S WORLD CUP
In Tuesday’s World Cup action, Spain topped Sweden 2-1 to earn a spot in the World Cup final. England’s match with Australia, the other semifinal game, is underway.
LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES
Little League has been hosting its World Series in Williamsport since 1947, yet it will be welcoming a new guest when the tournament starts Today — Cuba. Bayamo Little League beat Habana del Este Little League 6-2 to become the first Cuban team to qualify for the tournament back in March. And the club from Bayamo sure is happy to have made it. Walking into a Little League-sponsored picnic Monday at a college across the Susquehanna River, the Cubans entered with a player draped in the Cuban flag, the only team to carry one to the event. Cuba plays their first game against Japan today.
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